There’s a new face of baseball: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladdy's stock is on the rise after a legendary performance in the ALDS against the Yankees

When asked to name who the “faces of baseball,” are, two players almost always come to mind–Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. Ohtani is doing things never before thought possible on a baseball field, and, over the last two years, has been doing it for one of Major League Baseball’s marquee franchises, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Judge has arguably been the best hitter in baseball over the last 10 seasons and has already become one of the greatest players in New York Yankees history.

After the Toronto Blue Jays’ ALDS-clinching win on Wednesday, there is now a real argument that someone else has joined the ranks of Ohtani and Judge: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero put on a clinic at the plate against the Yankees in the ALDS. Through the four games, he went 9-17 with three home runs and nine RBI while drawing two walks and slashing an other-worldly 529/.550/1.059. Vladdy homered in each of the first three games and in Game 4, chipped in with an RBI and a few crucial defensive plays at first base. Guerrero’s fourth inning Grand Slam to go up 9-0 in Game 2 was the biggest swing by a Blue Jay since Jose Bautista’s famed bat flip during the 2015 ALDS. If MLB awarded an ALDS MVP like they do for the Championship and World Series, Guerrero would have been a shoo-in.

Perhaps more importantly for Vladdy’s case to be the newest face of baseball, he has a personality that fans can relate to.

Baseball fans have been aware of Guerrero long before he made it to the Major Leagues. The son and namesake of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., Vladdy was one of the consensus top prospects in baseball during his time in the minor leagues, tore his way through the Blue Jays organization and had one of the most highly-anticipated Major League debuts of all time at age-20 in 2019.

Throughout his career, Guerrero has had no shortage of off-the-field storylines to keep fans entertained. Most notably, in 2022, he was asked about potentially playing for the Yankees one day and said that he would “never sign with the Yankees, not even dead.” In 2023, he clarified those comments, saying it was “a personal thing that goes back with my family. ... I would never change that.”

While he later walked those comments back a bit ahead of his potential free agency in order to give himself as many options as possible, Guerrero made his stance on the Yankees clear.

This postseason, Guerrero backed up all of his talk. He got his moment to truly relish in his victory over New York during the Blue Jays’ champagne celebration while he was being interviewed by the FOX Sports studio crew of Kevin Burkhardt, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Derek Jeter.

Much to the delight of Ortiz and to the dismay of Rodriguez and Jeter, Guerrero copied Big Papi’s now-signature phrase used to mock former Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling’s iconic call, “Theeeeee Yankees Lose!” After going back and forth with Ortiz a few times, it was clear that Jeter and A-Rod were getting a little tired of the two rubbing it in their faces that the Yankees lost, with the two Yankees legends exchanging some smirks and awkward glances.

At the time this article was published, the FOX Sports: MLB Twitter account’s post featuring their interview with Guerrero had over 18 thousand reposts, 80 thousand likes and 11 million views.

One of the biggest complaints baseball has faced is that its stars do not have enough personality and are not marketed well enough. Guys like Mike Trout and Judge are naturally more soft-spoken. Ohtani does not speak English, and while he is a marketing superstar in his home country of Japan, it is more difficult for MLB to show off his personality.

Not only does Guerrero have an infectious personality, but he has the ability to grow the game in two more countries (and in three languages, being born in Montreal he speaks French)–his home country and where he plays home games with the Blye Jays, Canada, and where he grew up and who he represents in the World Baseball Classic, the Dominican Republic.

Guerrero has already put together an incredible career. A five-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner at first base, Vladdy signed a jaw-dropping 14-year, $500 million contract extension to keep him in Toronto and make him one of the highest paid players of all time. Guerrero has also put together some historic Home Run Derby performances, winning the contest in 2023 and hitting a mind-numbing 91 home runs before losing in the final round to Pete Alonso in 2019.

Especially if Guerrero and the Blue Jays are able to keep winning after their stunning performance against the Yankees in the ALDS, Vladdy’s superstardom will continue to rise and there will be no doubt that he is one of the faces of baseball alongside Ohtani and Judge.